Shadowing Practice: PET 2020 - B1 Preliminary for Schools Practice Test Plus for 2020 with Answer TEST 1 - Learn English Speaking with Video
Real-Life Conversations: Practicing Everyday English
Whether you’re entering a competition, buying souvenirs, or choosing a pizza, the dialogue from the video reflects common real-life scenarios where clear communication matters. These interactions are perfect for english speaking practice, as they use natural language you’d hear in schools, holidays, or casual outings. By focusing on these contexts, you’ll build confidence in speaking about practical topics.
Useful Chunks & Collocations to Master
- "Upload your photo onto the school website" – A key phrase for digital tasks, common in student competitions or project submissions.
- "Avoid the usual t-shirt" – A natural way to say you chose something different from typical options, great for discussing preferences.
- "Went for a hand-painted plate" – Shows decision-making in purchases; replace "hand-painted plate" with other items for flexibility.
- "Hang it on my wall" – A simple collocation for describing where to display objects, useful for talking about home decor.
- "Managed to avoid" – Expresses success in skipping something unwanted, ideal for explaining choices.
Your Shadowing Challenge: Improve Pronunciation & Fluency
Shadowing (or shadowspeak) is a proven way to improve english pronunciation and fluency. Here’s your task: Play the dialogue from the video, pause after each sentence, and repeat it aloud immediately, matching the speaker’s tone, speed, and stress. Focus on phrases like "I think I made a good choice" – notice how the speaker emphasizes "good choice." Do this 3 times for the souvenir conversation. This shadow speech practice trains your mouth to move like a native and helps you internalize natural rhythm. For extra challenge, try shadowing without pausing – this builds real-time listening and speaking skills, critical for english speaking practice. Keep at it, and you’ll soon notice smoother, more confident speech!
Grammar in this video
The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:
| Structure | In the video |
|---|---|
| Conditional sentences if + clause, will/would + verb — a condition and its result | If I ever go again, I'll do |
| Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it | be stopped · will be announced · wasn't burnt |
| Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters now | you've made · have ever been seen · we've never lost |
| Relative clauses who / which + clause — extra information about a person or thing | guy who showed |
What is the Shadowing Technique?
Shadowing is a science-backed language learning technique originally developed for professional interpreter training and popularized by polyglot Dr. Alexander Arguelles. The method is simple but powerful: you listen to native English audio and immediately repeat it out loud — like a shadow following the speaker with just a 1–2 second delay. Unlike passive listening or grammar drills, shadowing forces your brain and mouth muscles to simultaneously process and reproduce real speech patterns. Research shows it significantly improves pronunciation accuracy, intonation, rhythm, connected speech, listening comprehension, and speaking fluency — making it one of the most effective methods for IELTS Speaking preparation and real-world English communication.













